So Complicated
by thewrittennerd
Summary: AU. The lives of Stoneybrook's favorite club and the Wakefield twins & their friends will collide when Kristin "Kristy" Thomas and Bruce Patman's past romance resurfaces. Kristy & Bruce will find their way back to each other though the road to it will be rocky and unsteady at best. [Kristy/Bruce (main pairing), others included] [Book cover image made by Tiffany @ Shadowplay]
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: So Complicated  
**Author**: Katie  
**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but this story  
**Show/Movie/Book**: Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley series crossover  
**Couples/Category**: Kristy Thomas and Bruce Patman, Mary Anne Spier and Logan Bruno, Stacey McGill and Sam Thomas, Claudia Kishi and Ken Matthews, Dawn Schafer and Winston Egbert, Enid Rollins and Alan Gray, Abby Stevenson and Charlie Thomas, Anna Stevenson and Shannon Kilbourne, Jessica Wakefield and Oliver Luca (from the BSC movie), Lila Fowler and Cary Retlin, Elizabeth Wakefield and Todd Wilkins, Marguerite "Cokie" Mason and Bart Taylor, Janine Kishi and Steven Wakefield; other couples mixed throughout. Extremely alternate universe (AU).  
**Rating**: M  
**Summary**: AU. The lives of Stoneybrook's favorite club and the Wakefield twins & their friends will collide when Kristin "Kristy" Thomas and Bruce Patman's past romance resurfaces. Kristy & Bruce will find their way back to each other though the road to it will be rocky and unsteady at best.  
**Author's Note**: When I first started writing this story, I was just planning to have it be Baby-Sitters Club by itself but then I thought: "Why not combine it with my other favorite childhood book series, Sweet Valley?" And this was born right off the bat. I hope you all enjoy and remember to R&R!  
**Chapter One**  
"Has anyone heard from Kristy?" a heavily pregnant Mary Anne Spier Bruno asks as Logan holds the back of the chair he scooted away from the table. His wife eases down into the offered chair and smiles at him holding their daughter Lucy. "It isn't like her to call a meeting and not bother to show up."

"I'm sure that one of her T-ball practices ran late," Kristy's oldest brother Charlie pipes up as he brings in a tray of glasses, all of them filled with fresh lemonade.

"I just came from there. She didn't show up for the practice," Bart Taylor – who, although being Kristy's soon to be ex-husband, wasn't a part of the club – walks in saying. On one hip he carries B.J.; his & Kristy's four year old son.

"Where on Earth could she be?" Abigail "Abby" Stevens asks; her slender athletic hands wrapping around a tall, coolly frosted glass of lemonade.

Mary Anne and the others gathered in the living room of Watson & Elizabeth Brewer's mansion-style home – they had moved to Tuscon, Arizona with Nannie Thomas, David Michael and Emily Michelle when Nannie fell ill.

Charlie lived in the mansion by himself so he'd rented it out to college students and, since he'd been feeling generous at the time, allowed Abby to live there. "If she didn't show up at the ball field, do you think she had a doctor's appointment?"

"If she did, I would've known about it in advance," Bart responds, his eyebrows furrowed in a deep crease; a frown on his lips.

"Whoa there, hot shot, I don't mean to rain on your parade but…" Abby starts to say.

The front door bursts open, revealing a frazzled-looking Stacey with Sam & Corina – Kristy shuffling along reluctantly behind. "We found her at the airport," Stacey McGill Thomas explains to the group gathered & waiting.

"Why was she at the airport?" Everyone asks in unison before Charlie emits a loud, shrill whistle; the sound making – who'd been the one standing closest to Charlie – jump in fright.

Charlie offers her a sheepish, apologetic smile before looking at the crowd gathered. "Anyone that isn't family, we'll have Stacey or Mary Anne call & fill you in later."

Abby shuffles out behind anyone that wasn't a part of the Thomas family though her gaze flickers back over her shoulder to meet Charlie's. The door is shut to hid Abby's forlorn look of longing, a gesture that is caught by none other than Dawn.

* * *

Meanwhile Bruce emerges in the doorway of the private jet that belongs to him – and were once his father Hank's – finding his ex-girlfriend Jessica Wakefield waiting for him. Although it seems that she is scheduling another photoshoot, Bruce can see that she's also being a mom; carefully French braiding their daughter Samantha's hair. Samantha's twin sister Stephanie sits patiently on the other side of her mother, instantly bouncing to her feet when she spots Bruce. Her small hand begins tapping the shoulder closest to her until Jessica looks up from her task, smiling in a soft & genuine manner; mouthing "be with you in a second".

Bruce nods his affirmation before picking Stephanie up when she came rushing over as soon as he'd eased down onto the asphalt. Before the twins were born, Bruce hadn't planned on settling down or having kids – let alone with Jessica. They were both loose cannons and, together, were an instant combustion. Yet parenthood changed them and and made them a better team than when they were in high school. "I missed you, Daddy," Stephanie's soft, tiny voice pipes up; cutting into Bruce's deep, heavy thoughts.

"I missed you too, Stevie," Bruce replies with a smile, pressing a kiss to the top of Stephanie's head.

"Daddy did your trip go okay?" the six year old Stephanie then asks curiously.

Bruce smiles again. He didn't know what Jessica had told their twin daughters but he'd only mentioned to her about going to see some friends across the US. Just not where.

It wasn't any of her business nor was it Samantha & Stephanie's business where Bruce goes or who he goes to see. "Yeah, sweetie, my trip went great," Bruce finally responds, letting his thoughts go as Jessica finishes both of her tasks to walk over. The former couple greet each other with a kiss on the cheek and a soft smile. "Get everything taken care of?"

"Yeah. You'd never think the beginning of the school year would be the busiest time," Jessica replies, switching twins with him in order to sit down & braid Stephanie's hair.

"Such is the life of you, Jessica Wakefield. A daughter, sister, mother, model, photographer & artist," Bruce says with a smile.

* * *

"What were you thinking, Kris? And who was that guy with you at the airport?" Stacey asks in a soft tone as she sits across from her sister in law & longtime friend.

"I was saying good-bye, Stacey, and his name is Bruce Patman. He's originally from Sweet Valley, California," Kristy speaks up in the same soft tone that Stacey is using, her fingers pulling at the fringe strings on a couch throw pillow.

"Why would you keep that from us, Kristin?" Charlie asks, his hand stopping her fervent movements of destroying the furniture further.

"Because I was hoping it would remain a secret!" Kristy cries out in frustration, glaring angrily at those gathered. Both of her older brothers exchange a look of concern at her angry outburst but before Charlie has the chance to say anything about it, Mary Anne lets out a soft whimper from behind Charlie & Sam.

"It's time," Mary Anne says when all three Thomas siblings turn around to see what was wrong with Kristy's longest friend. Another sister they should've all had but didn't get though Karen & Emily Michelle filled that gap.

Charlie rushes to retrieve Logan before the entire group head to the hospital with Mary Anne's husband leading the way.

The conversation about Kristy's behavior would have to wait for a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

For those of you who haven't met me, let me introduce myself.

My name is Kristin Amanda Thomas Retlin Taylor. It's probably a bit of a mouthful but you can just call me Kristy.

As teenagers, my group of friends and I started a club.

The Baby-Sitters Club, to be exact.

It all started when Elizabeth Thomas Brewer, the mother of yours truly, found herself in a dilemma when she couldn't get a baby-sitter to watch my younger brother David Michael.

And BOOM! The Baby-Sitters Club was born. Even though a new generation, aka my niece Corina and four of her closest friends, are in charge, I do miss it.

When the club started in our generation, there were only four members:

Me, Kristin "Kristy" Thomas, the founder & president.

Claudia Kishi, the vice-president. She earned this position because she was the first among us to have her own personal phone line.

Mary Anne, my best friend & next-door neighbor until Mom married Watson, was the secretary. Though timid & quiet, meeting and later marrying Logan Bruno brought her out of that shell.

And Stacey McGill rounds out the core original four. She was our treasurer. In our senior year of high school, most of our group thought Stacey would attend college to become a math genius or math teacher but surprised us all when she was accepted to the Med School at New York University. Then she & my older Sam rushed to get married because Stacey would wind up pregnant with Corina.

Later on we added four alternate officers & two junior officers:

Dawn, the first of 4 & later Mary Anne's stepsister, moved to Stoneybrook with reluctance. Though she formed an instant bond with Mary Anne, it was Stacey that Dawn forms a deeper bond with due to both of their mothers moving them to a new place after a divorce.

Logan, the second of 4 & only male member of the club in our generation, would become Mary Anne's first boyfriend and later on, her husband and was a great officer in the club.

Shannon Kilbourne, the third of 4 officers, was first introduced as one of my new neighbors when Mom married Watson and we moved to his house. For a brief time I'd always thought Shannon was into guys but when Jessi was at Julliard, she'd seen Shannon kissing Anna Stevenson.

Abby (Abigail) Stevenson, the fourth & final alternate officer. She joined the club although her twin sister Anna declined the offer, wanting to focus on her music studies again.

And our two junior officers:

Mallory Pike, the writer. She did get her first novel written by the time she was eleven & a half and it was published when she was twelve. From there she put writing on hold until college and became an overnight sensation.

Jessica "Jessi" Ramsey, always dancing while she walks. It wasn't a surprise to any of us when she joined Julliard but it was when she became the first African-American female director of ABA, aka American Ballet Academy.

That rounds out everyone in the club but I'm not finished. Each of us has family and mine's the biggest so we'll start there.

Charlie is my oldest brother, four years older than me. After our dad Patrick abandoned the four of us & Mom, he did his best to help raise us, Sam, me and David Michael and it inspired him to end up becoming a social worker.

Sam is my older brother, two years older than me. He became a cop to bring good back into the world much like Charlie and cut back a little on his hours to help Stacey raise their now fifteen year old daughter Corina.

David Michael is my younger brother, six years are between us. Just like Charlie, he's a social worker and they're both fantastic at their jobs so it's a win-win.

Then there's Karen, Andrew & Emily Michelle.

Karen Brewer is our stepsister and the same age as David Michael. She works as a second grade teacher at Stoneybrook Elementary and has been named Teacher of the Year five years running!

Add in her younger brother Andrew Brewer and you had quite the handful. But not anymore. Andrew just finished another year of med school. He wants to be a pediatrician, and we're all so proud of him.

Last but not least there's Emily Michelle, the little girl that Mom & Watson adopted from Vietnam. Though she's the youngest of our growing family, she is a hard worker and is currently attending college out in Tuscon.

Our next generation is: Corina, B.J., and the baby girl I am currently expecting. Mary Anne & Logan have two kids even though they're not part of the family and Dawn also has two kids, with Alan Gray.

Let's move back to siblings though.

Claudia's older sister Janine is between Sam & Charlie age wise and is a total genius. She's also a savvy businesswoman, CEO of her own company and lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Dawn's younger brother Jeff moved back to Stoneybrook when Dawn graduated from high school after a heated fight with their father & stepmom. He & Karen have also struck up a blossoming romance though it's been slow going for them both.

Think you've gotten your fill yet? We had better buckle down because I have more.

We'll start with Tiffany Kilbourne. Although Shannon, her older sister, and myself once didn't get along after we moved in with Watson, it was after Shannon gave us one of her Border Collie puppies that we settled our brief feud.

Vanessa Pike, one of Mallory's assortment of younger siblings, is currently studying journalism but plans to go into broadcast journalism unlike Mallory.

The rest of the Pike siblings are doing their own thing, either graduating from college or currently in college.

Rebecca "Becca" Ramsey sort of followed Jessi into dance but does freestyle and is working to become a dancing coach for celebrities.

I think that wraps it up for families so we'll go on to the husbands – or rather, former & soon to be former in Dawn's and my cases.

Bart Taylor, mine. It breaks my heart to do this to him after all that we've been through to get here. But we've had a good & happy marriage and I'm planning to stay here in Stoneybrook (and in Stamford) so we can share custody of our precious babies.

Alan Gray, Dawn's former husband. He's been a total sweetheart to her during their marriage, and before & after, and dotes on Sadie & A.J.

Cary Retlin, another ex of mine. Though the marriage was short-lived, it wasn't because of abuse, although my two overprotective older brothers think otherwise. Cary and I would have clashed over every little thing if we had stayed married but neither of us wanted that kind of life together.

_I am Kristin Amanda Thomas and this is my story._

* * *

Saying that my life is simple is an understatement. I work, at work, at home, being a father. I took a downward slide in the romance department but that was a mutual thing with both of the women I once thought I'd had a deep & passionate love story to share with.

Between my high school romance with Jessica that fizzled out and when she got pregnant with Sammie & Stevie, I had Regina Morrow.

Ever as feisty, she probably still carries a torch for me but I've done my best to move forward with my life so that I can focus on raising my girls.

Somehow, in a miraculous way, I stumbled upon _her_.

Kristin Amanda Thomas, to be exact. Though she hated her full name, she loved, and probably still does, the way I would say it.

I first met her through friends of hers, Alan Gray and Dawn Schafer (formerly Gray), when she'd come to California for Alan & Dawn's wedding.

It was before Jessica found out that she was pregnant with the girls so I was a free agent at the time. Kristy was dating, nearly engaged to, a guy whose name is Bart Taylor so I did my best to steer clear of her.

Yet it was an impossible feat, on both of our parts. Neither of us could possibly deny our attraction to each other or that we both needed a connection to hold onto with someone.

I'd once been told by my ex-girlfriend Regina Morrow that I could never settle for just one woman and after meeting Kristin, I know she's right.

I did my best to let Jessica fill that void left behind when I went my separate way with Kristin but it just didn't work.

But I suppose I should pause my sap story and tell you about the people in my life.

While my father was up there in age, his mind had been as sharp as a thumbnail size tack but he retired from the business right after Sammie & Stevie were born. And then the private jet he & Mom were on crashed into the lake near their remote log cabin up in the Rocky Mountains.

Devastated by the loss, and to keep from reeling & falling apart, I called the guys I now consider to be good friends of mine.

Todd Wilkins being the main one. Though we had interacted in different social circles all throughout junior high and high school, Todd was the first person I called when the jet with my parents went down. I never would have thought to call him back in high school but time & circumstances have changed us all since then.

Ken Matthews also helped me a bunch. As the representative attorney to Patman Industries, Ken was with me when I'd gotten the call about my folks. Before I had him call Jess, I had him call _her_. Despite everything, and with only a few things connecting their intense, rocky past to the present, I consider Alice Wakefield to be more than a mother & grandmother. More than a woman who scorned Dad back in the 1960's.

She's a friend, the confidant I didn't know I needed to listen when I had doubts & fears about becoming a first-time father. Alice sat there, and _listened_ for hours as I paced back & forth and just let me rant. If anyone called Alice would politely ask for them to call back, even when it was my phone ringing.

And then there are the women most important to Jess. Liz, Lila, Enid. Liz being the most important of the group for being Jessica's twin sister, and Lila her best friend. Enid fell somewhere in between considering that she was Liz's best friend but they still all got along.

And then there's Todd, Ken and Steven. Steven being the oldest Wakefield and only son, he dotes on his nieces; especially his namesake Stevie. There are many more people I'd like you to introduce you to but those are the ones I consider my dearest friends, whether they're my friends or Jessica's friends.

_I am Bruce Henry Patman and this is my story._


End file.
